Cuban animal lovers struggle amid economic crisis
HAVANA, Aug 7: Nélida Pérez, an 81-year-old woman from Old Havana, has been feeding street cats in the city’s popular tourist area. However, the island’s economic crisis since 2020 has made it increasingly difficult to provide for them. The government provides vaccines, sterilisation, and some free clinics, but it does not have the means to provide shelter and food for street cats and dogs. Many pet lovers have turned their homes into shelters, but they are struggling to keep up with the demand and provide adequate care.
The hardest part is getting food, as a 20-kilo bag of dog food costs around $80, which is out of reach for most. This forces people to feed animals with pig organ meat (offal), chicken parts, or mince meat, which are also not easy to obtain. Annual vaccines cost about USD 20 and a vet visit is another USD 10, while the average monthly salary on the island is only about USD 12.
Experts say that the abandonment of animals in Cuba is due to several factors, including rising food and medicine prices, the migration of hundreds of thousands of Cubans in the last five years, and a high mortality rate among older adults. Annelie González, one of the leaders of the Aldameros Project, a cat colony located in a park in Havana’s historic center, emphasizes the importance of feeding and caring for animals.
González and a small group of volunteers began feeding 15 cats in Aldameros Park at the beginning of the pandemic and now care for more than 150. They have installed water pumps, pens for special cases, and cages for the kittens. This year, the number of abandoned cats in the park has soared to 15 per day.
Pérez recounts with sadness how she has seen people mistreat, beat, and even kill stray cats. As long as she is alive and healthy, she vowed to find them something to eat. (AP)
4S store, n Beijing, China, on Wednesday. (PTI)